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Cedar Lake Speedway creates new home for osprey

The Cedar Lake Speedway recently upgraded its lighting system, and in doing so also replaced the nest of the track's resident osprey. Photo courtesy of Todd Naylor1 / 2

The Cedar Lake Speedway recently replaced its resident osprey's nest with a new one that would be safer for the birds on top of the race track's lights. Photo courtesy of Todd Naylor2 / 2

When the Cedar Lake Speedway decided to upgrade its lighting system on its race track, which includes replacing 56 lights with 90 high efficiency lights, little did they realize that the upgrades would disrupt an osprey nest which has been located on top of one of the 60 foot poles for many years.

Unbeknownst to the speedway and the workers, the osprey nest had become intertwined within the upper lights on the pole. According to Todd Naylor, once the issue was identified, work was stopped in order to build a new nest for the osprey. The new nest will be placed above the lights in order to get the osprey away from the hot lights.

"I recruited St. Croix Truck and Trailer and they are donating the use of an 80 foot lift to put up this new nest. The work on the nest is donated by several other good hearted local people and of course the speedway itself, Naylor said. "The osprey are a fixture at the track, and we consider them to be mascots of a sort, and the family's that come to the races enjoy them very much."

The nest was replaced on Thursday, May 3, according to Naylor.

Naylor plans on recording the process and replaying it on the racetrack video screens. He may also install a live camera feed of the nest to play prior to races.